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SEARCH HELP

The article search on mims.co.uk allows simple single or multiple searches against our huge archive of articles. However, a few simple techniques allow you to get even more out of the search function.

You can create even more sophisticated searches using operators, which are special words used in the search/keyword field such as "AND", to ensure the search works in a specific way.

OR

This operator allows a search to return results that contain any of the search terms you provide. However, it is the default and therefore you do not need to include it.Example: A search for asthma OR inhalers is the same as a search for asthma inhalers, as the search defaults to the OR operator

AND

This operator ensures that all words can be found in each of the search resultsExample: You wish to search for articles that contain the words asthma and inhalers – but not necessarily in that order or next to each other – just somewhere in the article.Solution: Enter this into the keywords field: asthma AND inhalers

+

The "+" operator ensures the term after the "+" symbol exists somewhere in each search result.Example: You wish to search for articles that contain the words asthma but may or may not contain inhalers.Solution: Enter this into the keywords field: +asthma inhalers

-

The "-" operator ensures the term after the "-" symbol DOES NOT exist in each search result.Example: You wish to search for articles that contain the word asthma but must not contain inhalers.Solution: Enter this into the keywords field: asthma -inhalers

NOT

The "+" operator excludes words that you do NOT want to be found anywhere in the search results.Example: You wish to search for articles that contain the word asthma but DO NOT contain inhalers.Solution: Enter this into the keywords field: asthma NOT inhalers

Phrases

If you wish to search against multiple words as an exact phrase, you can do this using .Example: You wish to search for articles that contain the exact phrase combined contraceptive.Solution: Enter this into the keywords field: combined contraceptive

Combining operators – Advanced Searches

You can combine the operators above to create complex, grouped searches using parentheses.Example: You wish to search for articles that contain the phrase combined contraceptive and MUST mention MHRASolution: Enter this into the keywords field: combined contraceptive AND MHRAExample: You wish to search for articles that contain the words combined contraceptive AND either MHRA or NICESolution: Enter this into the keywords field: combined contraceptive AND (MHRA OR NICE)

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